Rodriguez and Joe Torre have had their ups and downs in New York. AP

The other two interested teams are intriguing for the killer combinations they could have created: A-Rod and Barry Bonds would have made an all-time tandem. And what about A-Rod and Ryan Howard?

One top baseball decision maker on one of the eight teams claimed, "We offered the house, but [Cashman] wouldn't even respond." While the interest in Rodriguez was great, it appears that talks never got off the ground.

From the start, Rodriguez made clear to Cashman he had no interest in waiving his no-trade clause and wanted to remain a Yankee. And despite A-Rod's perplexing summer slump, which briefly infected his fielding, Cashman didn't try to sway him on that score, either.

"Not only is he one of the premier players in the game, he's not an easily replaceable individual," Cashman explained. "We knew then we weren't going to have [Gary] Sheffield. You can't take two right-handed hitters out of the lineup like that. It would make no sense."

Besides, A-Rod rendered the point moot with a four-word message to Cashman regarding the possibility of a trade. "No thank you, Cash."

So even if the Yankees' interest could have been piqued a tad by a team like the Dodgers, which possess a multitude of exciting and talented young players, exactly the type of players Cashman covets, the Yankees GM didn't want to waste anyone's time, including his own.

"I knew Alex well enough to know that he was not waiving his no-trade clause," Cashman said. "It was a combination of A) not having any interest in trading him, and B) him not wanting to go anywhere ... It would have made entertaining offers senseless."

Rodriguez never wavered in his resolve to remain last summer. But that doesn't mean it's a certainty Rodriguez will make the same call this winter. Technically speaking, there are three possibilities: A-Rod could opt out of the most lucrative contract in the four major team sports and sign elsewhere; he could try to enhance his contract with an extension from the Yankees; or he could just stay, keep the $81 million in hand and play out the original contract.

"I understand my options. I love New York, and I want to be in New York," Rodriguez said. "I understand there's interest."

"He's very happy," agent Scott Boras adds. "His goal was to go there and win a world championship, and his entire focus is on the '07 season. Like any player with a contract provision ... he will take the chance to evaluate things at the end of the year. Just as a team will weigh its options, the same goes for a player. As of now Alex is happy in New York."

This spring Rodriguez looks like a new and happier man. He's slimmed down to an ungodly low 9 percent body fat for a man his size, and if a team is interested in A-Rod as a shortstop, he now looks slim enough to switch back to his original position after willingly surrendering it for Derek Jeter. Rodriguez has shown no outward interest in returning to his original position, but beyond the fact he is only one home run shy of Cal Ripken's home run record for a shortstop, he may still be worth even more as a shortstop.

Besides, how many players surrender a chance to double their pay?

This past winter both stars with opt-out clauses, J.D. Drew and Ramirez, used the opportunity to greatly increase their contracts. Drew left the Dodgers for Boston and Ramirez extracted an extension out of the Cubs. And neither of those players is anywhere near A-Rod's caliber.